Mild hypothermia attenuates ischemia/reperfusion injury - insights from serial non-invasive pressure-volume loops.

Using non-invasive pressure-volume loops by CMR, we observed that mild hypothermia at reperfusion alleviates the heart's work after ischemia/reperfusion injuries during the first week and preserves short-term cardiac performance. This hypothesis-generating study suggests hypothermia to have cardioprotective properties, incremental to reducing infarct size. The primary cardioprotective mechanism was likely an afterload reduction acutely unloading the left ventricle.